PARISH RENEWAL, OUTREACH & EVANGELISM: Mission USA!

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Mission USA page

Father James W. Kordaris

What if there
was a program whereby new mission parishes in the U.S. could receive
assistance & financial support as they strive to become
self-sufficient?

Thanks
to the generous support of the Leadership 100 Home Missions Grant, such
a program exists to support mission parishes throughout the Greek
Orthodox Archdiocese of America in their critical first years of
existence. In special situations these funds may also be applied to
parishes that have declined but are in a period of renewal and
outreach.

The Home Mission Parish
Program, under direction of the Department of Parish Renewal, Outreach
& Evangelism, takes into consideration the recommendation of the
local Hierarch, and provides gradually declining support to mission
parishes over a period of five years or less. Only parishes with a full
time priest are considered and the support is distributed to the priest
through the Metropolis as a temporary supplement to his salary.

There
are currently 14 mission parishes throughout the Archdiocese that are
receiving some level of support through the Home Mission Parish
Program. There are many other parishes designated as mission parishes
that receive no support from this program but are allowed other
benefits to assist them in the first difficult years of existence.

On
the forefront of the effort to establish new mission parishes is the
Commission for Orthodox Missions & Evangelism (C.O.M.E.) in the
Metropolis of San Francisco. This effort has established more than 13
parishes since 1991. The Commission identifies areas where mission
parishes are needed, establishes and nurtures their growth by providing
clergy on an occasional basis and the guidance and assistance to mature
into self-sufficient parishes. One beacon of Orthodoxy shines from the
renovated basement of a Portland shopping center that contains the
sanctuary, classrooms, bookstore, and fellowship hall of St. John the
Baptist Church . Descending the stairs and entering the sanctuary, one
senses the spirit of the early Church described in the second chapter
of the Book of Acts. Visit their website at www.stjohngoc.org.

There
are five parishes receiving support from the Leadership 100 Home
Mission Grant within the Metropolis of Atlanta. One of these is the
Hellenic Orthodox Mission of Hernando County in Brooksville , Florida ,
under the leadership of Father Stanley Harakas, which has grown from 36
to 60 stewards in just eighteen months. This parish has been meeting
and worshipping in the chapel of a local camp facility, all 22 acres of
which are soon to be donated to the parish. Later this year the
community will conclude the process of choosing a name for their
parish. Visit their website at www.orthodoxhernandocountyfl.org.

In
the Metropolis of Pittsburgh, the mission parish of St. Matthew in
Reading , Pennsylvania is a parish in renewal. The seventy committed
families of St. Matthew reflect the vast mosaic of Orthodoxy – Greek,
Romanian, Ethiopian, Coptic, Arabic and those who have come to embrace
Orthodoxy from other religious traditions. Now in the process of moving
from the downtown area to a new location, the parish remains committed
to maintaining a presence in the inner city of Reading . The St.
Matthew parish is a visible presence in the Reading community,
recognized for their prison ministry, outreach to the poor, and for
their work with immigrants and refugees. Visit the St. Matthew website
at www.saintmatts.org.

From
these examples, it is clear that Orthodoxy's presence in America is
growing and there are budding and thriving parishes that would be
struggling or nonexistent were it not for the Home Mission Parish
Program . Because of this program, priests are able to offer
much-needed consistency in leadership during the critical stages of
parish formation and renewal, increasing immensely the likelihood of a
parish becoming self-sufficient.

The
opportunities for the expansion of the Mission Parish Program are many.
Preliminary findings of the new Annual Parish Report indicate that more
than twenty communities in the Archdiocese have expressed an interest
in establishing mission parishes. To address this critical issue, a new
Guide for the Establishment of Mission Parishes will soon be
available from the Department of Parish Renewal, Outreach &
Evangelism. Also soon to be published is a booklet entitled, Parish Renewal, Outreach & Evangelism: Some Practical Steps .
The Department will also work to expand home mission activity by
seeking funds from additional sources for the support of the Home
Mission Parish Program, clearly an excellent investment in the future
of the Greek Orthodox Church in America. In the words of Archbishop
Demetrios, “It is the Parish, it is the local community which has been,
is, and will forever be the central, indispensable agent for offering
our Orthodox Faith to contemporary America .”

To support the Home Mission Parish Program,
please send contributions to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
, Department of Parish Renewal, Outreach & Evangelism, 83 St. Basil
Road , Garrison , NY 10524 . For information on establishing a mission parish, please contact the Department by mail at the address shown above, by email at parishrenewal@goarch.org, or call 646/519-6160.